So I bought this 1995 Firebird Formula on Saturday last week. Overall the car has been fine. But the longer I have it, the more things that keep going wrong. I knew it was leaking oil. But now the car wont start and the oil gauge just stays at 0. I know the car has oil because I just put more in and checked the dip stick. I have no idea what is wrong with the car. Any suggestions? I kept trying to start it and got it to turn over once, then the oil gauge dropped and it died. Now it wont start again. I've already invested $4,500 in this car and cannot handle a major problem. The car was running fine (other than the leak) until today.

OK, this is a simple one. Remove the lower kick panel under the dash on the driver's side. Look for something that looks like a solenoid or a little white (sometimes black) box made of plastic. This is called the fuel pump safety switch, it turns the engine off by cutting the pump if the car rolls over or if the oil pressure dips below 5 psi. Problem is, if it breaks along with one other item, the engine won't start, but it might not be the problem. Got your attention? Read the full, and somewhat complicated story coming up:

Here's the rest of the story: Key in the ignition, ignition on, cranking started, the engine should burp to life within 1 second at -20F (yeah, that's correct). If it doesn't start but is cranking and you know the fuel pump is good, then the fuel pump safety switch is defective. Now, if that switch (located in the lower kick panel under the dash on the driver's side) is defective, then contine cranking and when the oil pressure reaches 5 psi, the oil pressure sender/safety switch overides the fuel pump safety switch and allows the engine to be started. I only threw that fuel pump safety switch in there, so that you would know about it--it is the reason a lot of owners have to crank their engines for some time to get it started.

So, what if both the fuel pump safety switch and the oil pressure sender/safety switch are bad? There is no way the engine can be started...it's theft proof as well.

But, there's a rub, and I've mentioned this before a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..... What if the oil pressure sender is defective and doesn't allow a proper oil pressue reading? Viola~ the engine won't start, even if the fuel pump and it's safety switch is good--the oil pressure sender has a kill switch built into it to kill the engine!

My guess is that the oil pressure safety switch is what is defective, becuz you stated that the gauge shows zero oil pressure.

You will need a special socket to replace the sender...costs about 6-7 bucks at almost any auto supply store and the oil senders are not too expensive. The oil sender is mounted at the back of the block, drivers side--has one little wire coming out of it--don't lose the terminal boot==they have a tencency to fall off. It's really easy to replace.

Hope this helps, otherwise the fix could be more complicated.

Did you figure it out?